Don Knabe: Los Angeles County boosts services, watches budget

Kicking off his fifth and final term as a county supervisor, Knabe delivered his sixth annual State of the County address to a packed house at the Grand Ballroom of the Long Beach Convention Center.

His serious message about what he said are delicate and precarious times with the ominous approach toward the so-called fiscal cliff was interspersed with his homestyle wit and charm.

The speech was short on specifics, policy goals and challenges for the county, as well as the gravitas often expected in such addresses.

It was spiced with a collection of slide shows that featured accomplishments in the county and, of course, funny pictures of Knabe.

However, when the supervisor looked at the national political picture, he was plenty serious.

As the country creeps closer to the fiscal cliff, a popular term for scheduled $1.2 trillion cuts in spending and a widespread tax increase that could begin Jan. 1 if Congress is unable to make a deal, Knabe said "we (in government) still have to do our jobs."

And primary in that, Knabe said, is "serving as the ultimate safety net for the people who need it most."

Knabe, whose 4th District includes nearly 30 cities stretching from El Segundo to Long Beach along the coast and east to Diamond Bar, said "America has spoken and it has said, `Enough of the bickering, fix our economy. We need to get people back to work."'

Knabe said most economists agree that the fiscal cliff could plunge the country back into recession and higher unemployment.

"If Congress and the president don't figure it out, it's going to be a very unpleasant new year," Knabe said.

Quoting Ronald Reagan, Knabe said, "There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what is morally right."

Pivoting away from the national picture, Knabe turned his attention to local issues. It was, after all, a state of the county report.

His three main topics were "responsible budgeting," "customer service" and "our people."

Speaking about the county's budgeting, Knabe touted recent news that Standard and Poor's had upgraded the county's credit rating to AA.

Even with fiscal prudence, the supervisor boasted that his district had been able to award $4 million in park improvements in many areas.

Knabe said one of his main areas of focus in the near future will be to finally build transit links to Los Angeles International Airport as well as the Long Beach and Burbank airports.

"It's embarrassing that the second-largest city in America with the third-busiest airport still does not have a direct transit connection," he said.

Knabe closed his talk by praising several unsung heroes. These included Karen Fuqua and Arecelia Torres, two women who teach incarcerated youth, and Michelle Guymon and Hania Cardenas, who have spearheaded efforts to battle child trafficking in the county.

One project particularly dear to Knabe through the years has been the Safe Surrender program, which allows mothers to surrender their newborn children, no questions asked.

In addition to praising the families that eventually take and raise the children, Knabe said he wanted to recognize, "the honor and courage of moms who do the right things and turn over babies."